I downloaded my Kindle copy of Fernando Rivera’s The Afterliving (His Blood & Silver Book 1) at the recommendation of screenwriter and LGBT icon Michael Varrati. With Michael’s particular interests in horror and gay matters in mind, I expected The Afterliving to be a dark, supernatural love story between two members of the same sex. Well, it turns out I was 100% wrong and… a little nervous. Right on the cover of the novel is a crucifix and the theme of religion is mentioned subtly in the synopsis. My first thought was, “crap, what am I going to do with this?” I’m Agnostic and I avoid anything that deals with religion because I don’t want to read or see someone else’s opinion on a topic that I haven’t come to terms with yet. But, that’s what’s beautiful about The Afterliving. The main character, Manny, is an Atheist and he doesn’t have a belief in God either; let alone vampires and other supernatural entities. From the very beginning, from the first few pages, Fernando Rivera weaved a story that made me feel at home in a world that was uncertain to me. I instantly fell in love with every single character he introduced and, just like in real life, didn’t judge them based on their beliefs in higher power and the afterlife. Hell, if a novel could make me feel that way and paint a parallel between its context and my own life, then it’s gotta’ be a good read. Right?
Correct! When trying to equate it to other works of media, the easiest metaphor I can think of is Dark Shadows meets Twilight. Though, I will say it encompasses other aspects of Twilight that are more fascinating to readers than tween romance. The Afterliving (His Blood & Silver Book 1) contains all the grand, luxurious locations and supernatural mystery of Dark Shadows while combining it with the action-adventure and slight love story of Twilight. In my head, I pictured this novel as a Dark Shadows television episode filmed with the same cameras, lighting and filters of the Twilight movies. The old, historic walls of Stockton Estate in Devil’s Dyke were described so perfectly that I could smell the dust and stone of the walls, and I could smell the dew on the grass surrounding the property. Reading The Afterliving is a full bodied experience, where the reader is completely transported to the world written by Fernando Rivera and every one of the five senses are assaulted by real-world apparitions. It’s because of this fact alone that readers should purchase this novel in paperback or on Kindle. It’s the perfect get-away for horror fans who need to turn their world off for a few hours and enter another one as a slow bystander.
And, again, don’t be turned off by the notion of religion. While The Afterliving (His Blood & Silver Book 1) has Christianity at its core, I can honestly say it’s a version of the faith that you’ve never seen before. Fernando Rivera has quite the pair of balls to take Jesus Christ, thee Jesus Christ, and turn him and his followers into vampires. Though they are super-powered and occasionally drink human blood, the vampires that Rivera created are good and only work to serve The Lord. This even means going to church and holding their own baptisms. It’s certainly a paradox and a notion that is bound to piss a few people off, but it really worked here as an alternative to the stories that we’ve read in The Bible. I can see why Manny would take the first 1/3 of this novel to come to terms with this new version of Jesus and religion, but there’s a lot that the main character doesn’t know… even about himself. It’s frustrating for him as a character, but quite suspenseful and surprising for the reader, to be in the dark about everything; his past, his present, his future, his legacy. You’ll want to discover and unravel all of these mysteries along with him. Trust me!
Also at its core, The Afterliving (His Blood & Silver Book 1) is a supernatural murder mystery and family drama that quickly escalates into “The Young and The Restless” meets Underworld. It’s strange but invigorating to see so much love and so much protection woven into a bloody, dark and mesmerizing story. More than anything, horror and science fiction readers will be instantly drawn to this novel with the promise of vampires, climactic action sequences and character development out the wazoo. Fernando wrote the characters in such a pleasant and realistic way that I could literally hear their voices on every page. This made it all the more hair-raising and pulse-charging whenever something creepy or violent happened to them. It was easy to invest my emotions in them and treat them like real people, and not just people taking up spaces in a book. And you’ll have to be fully invested in this one because it’s a long read. A great read, but one that’s going to take up about a week and a half of your time if you bang out 2 or 3 chapters a night.
It should be clear by now that I thoroughly enjoyed reading The Afterliving. Though it caught me by surprise in terms of plot details, I found myself even more surprised by how much I wanted to keep reading every night, how often I thought about reading more at work. To say it completely blew away my expectations would be an understatement. As the debut novel by Fernando Rivera, you can’t get anything better in terms of quality and this book promises a bright future for the up-and-coming writer. The Afterliving is a brilliant mix of Dark Shadows, Twilight, Underworld and The Greatest Story Ever Told while remaining completely original, thought provoking, honest and macabre. It’s Clue meets “As the World Turns” with ferocious, calculated and cultured vampires nipping at its edges… all wrapped up in an easy to read novel! The Afterliving (His Blood & Silver Book 1) was published by Fern & Doe Media with cover art by Despina Panoutsou and editing by Caroline Tolley. Scoring this one will be easy, and without the typical happy ending, I’m looking forward to reading His Blood & Silver Book 2 in the future. Final Score: 8 out of 10.
Buy it in paperback on Amazon: here
Download it on Kindle: here
Synopsis: A dutiful son to his single mother, Manny Stockton has spent the last twenty years harboring a grudge against his absentee father, Isidore. But after Isidore’s sudden passing, an obligatory homecoming to Devil’s Dyke reveals the truth behind their estrangement. Manny’s father was not the man he thought he was. In fact, Isidore was no man at all. He was a Disciple, a divine being created from the blood of the Supreme Sire—what we, the Living, would call a vampire. Manny also learns Disciples like Isidore do not simply die. They must be slain. With the help of Lucy, Manny’s childhood sweetheart, and a slew of suspicious relatives, Manny hunts down his father’s killer. But he soon discovers there is more behind Isidore’s mysterious death than mere hatred or vengeance. There is also faith; and hope; and love. But will there be forgiveness?
